Pump Wiring Question

[Gannet]

We are replacing our old pool pump with a Pentair Superflo VS. The question is, do I need to install a GFI circuit breaker for this new pump? And, can an outlet still branch off of this circuit or does it need to be separate circuit?

The current pump is wired to 230 volt circuit with a 20 amp, double pole breaker ( non GFI).
A 120 volt outlet is split off this circuit (GFI, if it is wired correctly, pressing the test button breaks the circuit, but the button does not stay down, maybe time to replace it) . The pump and outlet are both more than 10’ from the water’s edge.

Our main use for the outlet is to power our Tigershark vacuum when the pump is not running.

Page 11 of the Pentair Superflo Manual #9.
“The pump should be permanently connected to
either a circuit breaker, 2-pole timer or 2-pole
relay. If AC power is supplied by a GFCI circuit
breaker, use a dedicated circuit breaker that has
no other electrical loads.”

If the electric load of the Tigershark is only present when the pump is not running, is that OK?

Thank you for your help.

 

[jblizzle]

The circuit for a pump is supposed to be dedicated. You should not be branching off half of it to an outlet. If you choose to ignore that and do it anyway and use a 230V GFCI breaker, every time you try to use the outlet, it will throw the GFCI breaker as that is what it is designed to sense.

I think code in many places is now requiring the use of dedicated GFCI breakers supplying the pump.

If you have enough wires, you could use the current 230V 20amp circuit to feed a subpanel at the equipment pad. From this you would have a dedicated GFCI circuit to the pump and a separate circuit to the outlet. You may be required to add a ground rod for this sub panel as well. Check your local codes.